It is a well known fact among engineers that tracking down and rectifying an intermittent problem poses a greater challenge than rectifying a problem that is consistently observable and quantifiable. This fact holds true in the case of video games as well. Typically, an intermittent problem (often referred to as a “glitch”) manifests itself in a video game in several different ways. For example, a glitch may be observed as a visual anomaly when viewing one or more images of the video game while the game is in progress. Some examples of visual anomalies include an image going black momentarily, or an image freezing for some length of time. On the other hand, an intermittent problem may also manifest itself in other ways. A few examples include a noticeable delay in executing a command provided through a joystick, or a lack of synchronization between an image and a sound track.
Traditionally, game developers attempt to rectify such problems by recreating the scenario wherein the intermittent problem was encountered and then troubleshooting the gaming application code and/or the video game hardware. As can be appreciated, the troubleshooting process often turns out to be a hit-or-miss affair for several reasons. The first reason pertains to accuracy in recreating the problem. This process involves a combination of factors—some of which are readily apparent and some of which are of a subtle and complex nature that is not readily apparent. Consequently, the success of the troubleshooting effort depends on the experience of the troubleshooter in predicting various possibilities for occurrence of the problem and accurately replicating the appropriate scenario.
The second reason pertains to pinpointing the root cause of the problem after observing the symptoms in the replicated scenario. Typically, a software developer uses diagnostic tools, such as breakpoints and customized pieces of troubleshooting code, to track down the source of the problem in the gaming application code. The success of this troubleshooting effort is dependent upon the capacity of the software developer to accurately predict potential problem areas in the gaming application code and insert, for example, one or more customized pieces of troubleshooting code for capturing relevant performance data during execution of the gaming application code.
In contrast to the troubleshooting approach used by the software developer, a hardware engineer (who often works independent of the software developer) may use other diagnostic tools, such as a logic analyzer for example, to track down a hardware component that may be malfunctioning. Here again, the success of the troubleshooting effort is dependent upon the capacity of the hardware engineer to identify the problem as either a hardware problem or a problem associated with execution of the gaming application code upon the hardware. As can be appreciated, this scenario often lends itself to finger-pointing and blame between the hardware engineer and the software developer.
In view of the description above, it can be understood that there is a need to provide solutions that address and overcome such traditional shortcomings.